


Get the Ending Right

by zahnie



Category: Leverage
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9920537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zahnie/pseuds/zahnie
Summary: Hardison goes to sleep post-canon and wakes up pre-canon, memories intact.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I read [this ficlet](https://shitty-check-please-aus.tumblr.com/post/157417182872/au-where-bitty-and-jack-both-suddenly-wake-up) on Tumblr by [shitty-check-please-aus](https://shitty-check-please-aus.tumblr.com/) and decided to write the same AU for the Leverage OT3 because why not.
> 
> Title is from "Haven't Had Enough" by Marianas Trench.

Alec's first thought, before he's actually awake, is that it's finally sunny in Portland. The weather has been completely grey lately and it feels like forever since he's seen the sun.

But the sunlight is coming from the wrong direction. Has he slept until late afternoon? Alec fumbles for his phone, squinting while his eyes adjust. He can't find it.

Alec groans and rubs his face. He sits up, glances around the room, and is suddenly very _very_ awake. This isn't the room he went to sleep in.

Everything is almost familiar. Those are his clothes on the floor, his posters on the walls, his cactus on the windowsill. But Cypirion is at least a foot higher now and Alec lost that scarf in the move to Portland, two years ago.

His heart starts hammering. Alec looks wildly around and sees something else to freak out about: an iPhone 3G, sitting calmly on the dresser at the foot of the bed. He scrambles forward and leans precariously out past the end of the bed to grab it.

He used to do that. Used to leave his phone far enough away that he'd have to get up to get it, so he couldn't turn off his alarm in his sleep.

Alec stares at the date without unlocking the phone screen. December 7, 2008. That's when he _really_ starts to panic.

He tries to calm down by telling himself it's some White Rabbit bullshit. But that's almost worse? Because if somebody is conning him, that means they'd have to _know_ all about him five years ago, to make this detailed of a set. And that is a short fucking list of people.

So, no, it can't be a White Rabbit con. What's a more comforting idea than Alec being warped _back in time_ five years? Dreaming? Hallucinating? He can feel the panic rising back up.

He can't have made up the last five years and dreamed them in one night. He's a genius but come on.

He gets out of bed and stumbles over to the window. He opens it, just to check that the view is real. There's a slight breeze and the air outside is warm. There's the familiar piece of the LA skyline that he remembers going with this room. He touches Cypirion's spikes. His hand is shaking a little.

It hits him then, that he's alone. Of course, it's not the first time he's woken up alone. The three of them don't end up sleeping in the same bed for the same lengths of time. But this bed isn't even big enough for three. Only Alec's stuff is visible. It's like Eliot and Parker have never been here.

And they haven't. Five years ago, in his personal timeline, he accepted that job from Victor Dubenich, for the novelty of some white-hat thievery with a team. And he did live here before Leverage Consulting. Alec checks the date again. The timing is right.

He puts on some pants, because it feels like he's in somebody's else's house. They fit. Of course, they fit, they're his clothes.

Alec finishes getting dressed and wanders out into the living room. Again, everything is _almost_ familiar. He grabs the pool table, his legs all wobbly suddenly.

Is he going to have to do everything all over again? Perform the same feats of hacking genius, make the same wisecracks, all the time knowing how it all ends. How it _could_ end. Because Alec could change the future, even by mistake. Maybe now he and Eliot and Parker won't end up together.

He closes his eyes and bows his head against the possibility that he could ruin everything between the three of them before it starts. They'll think he is crazy, dangerously crazy. Alec can't think of anything more likely to send Parker and Eliot running than a stranger who knows as much about them as Alec does.

He'll be alone, even if he manages to keep the team around him. Can he remember how to be the person he was five years ago?

He hears a sound, like somebody deliberately scuffing their shoes against the floor. Alec looks up but nothing's there. He and Parker had worked out that signal, back in the future, for when she didn't want him to jump when she appeared beside him. Parker only used it when she thought he was stressed.

“Parker?” he asks, out of blind hope.

She pops out from behind his couch. Alec jumps.

“Are you time travelling too?” she demands. She's scowling with almost Eliot-like intensity.

“Yes!” Alec almost shouts.

Parker's face lights up. Alec grins too. She leaps forward, wraps her arms and legs around him. He hugs her back, feeling his body relax slightly. Not alone, it won't be as bad as he feared.

Alec feels Parker pull back a little and he lets go. She lands back on the floor firmly with both feet. “I'm glad you're here,” Alec says. 'Glad' is an understatement, for sure. He feels like he can breathe again.

“I remembered where you lived,” Parker says. She looks around. “This is where we went after Dubenich tried to blow us up.”

“Yeah,” Alec says. “Parker, I think today is the day we all met.”

She nods. “I found a newspaper on the way here. Do you know where Eliot is, right now?”

Alec shakes his head. “He never told me. We know where he'll be tonight, though, if everything is the same as before.”

“That's too long to wait,” Parker says.

“Yeah,” Alec says. If Eliot's time travelled too, they need to find him as soon as possible. If he hasn't... nope, Alec isn't going to think about that possibility. “I'll look for him.”

They both turn to look at the computer desk against one wall of the living room. Alec winces. The tech definitely isn't top-of-the-line to him now, but it's new for 2008.

“Okay,” Parker says. “Do you have cereal?”

Alec shrugs. “Go look. I definitely have popcorn.” He remembers Parker eating it here before.

She smiles at him and skips off to the kitchen.

Alec sits down at the computer desk and starts hacking his own damn desktop, because he can't remember his password from five years ago.

***

Alec knocks on the hotel room door before he can think too much about it. Parker is fidgeting beside him. She'd wanted to break in, the way she did at Alec's place but he'd talked her out of it.

It feels like an eternity before Alec hears the click of the lock and the door opens. Eliot is there, looking like hell. Alec wishes he and Parker had gotten here sooner.

“Hey, baby,” Alec says. “Remember us?”

“Are you 2013 Eliot or 2008 Eliot?” Parker asks quickly, before Eliot can answer.

Eliot's eyes widen. He doesn't say anything for a stunned second. Then, he reaches out very slowly and touches Alec's arm. “2013,” he whispers.

“Yessss!” Parker cheers, grinning. “We're all time travellers!”

Alec opens his arms and Eliot hugs him tightly. “Hey, it's okay,” Alec murmurs.

As they pull back, Parker ducks under their arms and all three of them are hugging in a hotel hallway.

Alec feels the world lurch. Eliot grunts. “Earthquake?” he asks.

“Timequake,” Parker says, letting go. Alec and Eliot end the hug too and look around. They're all wearing different clothes and standing in their living room in Portland.

Alec snatches his phone out of his pocket and checks the date. December 7, 2013. “We're back!” he yells.

“That was weird,” Parker says.

“What the hell happened?” Eliot asks.

“I have no idea,” Alec says. “Anybody make any ill-considered wishes?”

Eliot rolls his eyes. “Hardison—”

“We just _time travelled_ , okay? Anything is possible.”

“That means time travel is possible, not _anything_.”

Alec opens his mouth to argue further but Parker says, “Didn't we have plans for today?”

Eliot looks at the wall clock. “We're gonna be late if we don't hurry up,” he says.

They do hurry, and are only a few minutes late for the client meeting. Alec finds it hard to concentrate.

Eliot pulls him aside after the client leaves. “Would you have changed anything?” he asks.

Alec thinks about it. “Maybe,” he says. “But this is still the ending I'd be hoping for.”

Eliot smiles. “Me too.”


	2. Got the Start Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot goes to sleep post-canon and wakes up pre-canon, memories intact.
> 
> Eliot's POV of 'Get the Ending Right'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written almost a year later! I had about half of this for a few months and had basically given up on it but a burst of writing today and it's ready to post!
> 
> Thank you to greenmonstermash: without your lovely comments on the first half of this fic, I seriously doubt Chapter 2 would exist. You are a darling and I wish only good things for you!
> 
> Chapter title, like fic title, is from "Haven't Had Enough" by Marianas Trench

The first thing, is that the room smells wrong. Perfume and alcohol and... industrial cleansers? Eliot is wide awake before the last smell fully registers.

The second thing is that there is a stranger in his bed.

Eliot stays very _very_ still. He trained himself a long time ago not to move on possible threats until he's awake for sure. No fighting nightmares. Especially after he falls asleep with Parker and Hardison.

Who are not here.

The stranger snores gently. He risks turning over. She's lying on her side, facing him, her mouth open a little bit. Her light brown hair is in tangled curls over the pillow and her make-up is smudged. And she's naked. Eliot has no idea who she is. He's naked too.

He slides backward out of bed, feeling for the floor with his feet, careful not to pull the sheet with him. The stranger stays asleep.

Eliot looks around. It's a hotel room. Not a fancy one. Bed, TV, nightstands, closet. There's clothes strewn over the floor, his and presumably hers. A slice of sunlight is coming through the tiny gap between the curtains.

He stands in the middle of the room, trying to breathe quietly. Everything is wrong.

After an unbearable few seconds, he retreats to the bathroom. It's an illusion of safety but he'll take it. Eliot sits down on the floor. The tile is cool but it should be freezing. Portland in December in a shitty hotel room? He should be shivering already and he isn't.

So maybe he isn't in Portland anymore.

If anything bad happens to them, he'll— He cuts off the thought, runs a hand through his hair. Wait, is it shorter than before? He didn't look in the mirror when he came into the bathroom.

As he's standing up, his eye catches something shiny. A knife, taped under the counter. Eliot reaches out, rips it free. It's definitely his. The grip is worn to the shape of his hand.

The thing is, not only can he not remember putting the knife there, he _doesn't_ hide knives anymore. Parker finds anything pointy in two seconds flat. Most of the time, she'll put it back but Eliot remembers one terrifying incident that he'd really rather—

Then it hits him. It's finally happened. Amnesia. He has amnesia.

It makes sense. He gets hit in the head too much. He's heard about the real amnesia, where you don't forget everything and start again, but you lose time. Sometimes years. Your brain resets to the last save point, and how is he making a video game reference right now? He must really be in shock.

Amnesia makes the stranger make sense. He is here because he isn't—

Eliot sits down hard on the edge of the bathtub. He isn't with them. If Parker and Hardison aren't here, and there's no sign of them (and Hardison would never be in a hotel room like this except for a job, it has stained beige walls and visible ceiling mold over the shower head), then... what? He wouldn't leave them. Unless they asked him to. Or they're—

It hurts to think.

He has to know how much time he's lost. If it's only a little while, maybe he can fix whatever happened. He's in a hotel, there might be a newspaper in the hall.

Eliot creeps out of the bathroom and finds his jeans. They are definitely his. He pulls them on, slips the knife into his pocket.

No one is in the hall and all the doors are closed. Eliot is fast grabbing the paper anyway, just in case. He doesn't look at the front page until he's back inside the hotel room, which turns out to be a good move because the date freezes him to the spot.

December 7, 2008. Five years ago.

He flips through the paper, trying to remember the details of news stories from late 2008 to check against these. He finds nearly all California-focussed articles.

Wait. Five years ago. He's in Los Angeles. Because he, Hardison, Parker, and Nate are going to rob Pierson Aviation tonight.

Well, he definitely doesn't have amnesia. More like the opposite: remembering things that haven't happened yet.

Eliot runs his hand through his hair. It's still just a little too short. What the fuck is he going to do now? Time travel is definitely outside of his wheelhouse. He needs to call Hardison.

Then it really hits him. He _can't_ call Hardison. Because, even if he could find Hardison's phone number somewhere (very unlikely), it'll be a Hardison who doesn't know Eliot yet on the other end. They'll be meeting for the first time tonight.

Eliot will have to pretend it's the first time for him too. He can't risk changing anything. Can he even _remember_ exactly the way the last five years went?

His blood runs cold. Sophie will leave the team. Nate will almost get them all killed over and over. Hardison will be buried alive. Parker will save thousands of people by lighting that virus on fire. And Eliot can't stop any of it from happening.

A noise from the bed makes Eliot look up from the newspaper. It's the strange woman, looking slightly more familiar now that he knows she's from 2008. She's sitting up in the bed, glancing around the room.

“Good morning,” Eliot says, to be polite. It isn't her fault she scared him earlier after all.

The woman lets the sheet covering her breasts fall and smiles. “It'd be a great morning if you come back to bed,” she says, patting the empty place beside her.

Eliot smiles. “Sorry, darlin', but I've got lots of work to do.” He gestures with the newspaper. He has no idea what he told her last night but it was definitely a pack of lies.

She sighs. “Fine. What time is it anyway?” She glances at the clock next to her and gasps. “Oh _shit_ , I have to go!”

She scrambles into her clothes while Eliot flips through the newspaper again. The only national news is about Barack Obama winning the election last month.

“Bye! That was fun!” The woman kisses Eliot quickly. He manages to hold still for it. “Text me if you're in town again,” she calls over her shoulder, as she opens the door.

“Bye,” Eliot says, as the door closes behind her. He remembers her a little bit better now. She had to run off last time too.

He sits on the edge of the bed, dropping the newspaper on the floor. Can he really do this? Fake his way through the next five years? Eliot was making a lot of it up as he went the first time, will it really be all that different to do it again? Since he knows that following the exact same path will lead him to dating Parker and Hardison, he will have to try.

Who is he trying to fool? Eliot didn't know how they'd fallen in love with him the first time, let alone how to make it happen again.

He goes around and around, for hours. But he can't help reaching the same conclusions. He has to make everything the same.

At about three in the afternoon, Eliot hears a knock on his door.

He didn't order room service. No one should know he's here. Maybe the woman forgot something? Eliot picks up yesterday's shirt from the floor and puts it on. The knife is still in his pocket. He opens the door.

Parker and Hardison are standing there.

Eliot can't believe it. This did _not_ happen, he would have remembered this.

“Hey, baby,” Hardison says. “Remember us?”

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

“Are you 2013 Eliot or 2008 Eliot?” Parker asks quickly, before Eliot can answer.

Eliot clutches the door, hopefully where they can't see. They've time travelled too? It doesn't feel like relief at first. He's too tense, he doesn't trust it.

Eliot reaches out very slowly and touches Hardison's arm. Hardison doesn't pull away. “2013,” he whispers.

“Yessss!” Parker cheers, grinning. “We're all time travellers!”

Hardison opens his arms. Eliot hugs him tightly, feeling like he never wants to let go. “Hey, it's okay,” Hardison murmurs.

Eliot makes himself loosen his grip but as they pull back, Parker ducks under their arms and all three of them are hugging in a hotel hallway. And that's when Eliot realizes that everything is going to be okay.


End file.
